Chapter 321: One Million Points, The Beginning of Secret Realm Zero

In the subterranean cavern, beside the ruins of the hive.

After confirming Qin Wudao was not in critical condition, Qin Tianba grabbed him and shot into the air.

Before leaving, his sinister eyes coldly swept over the crowd below, finally pausing on Gu Yuexi for a moment.

"The Qin Family will get to the bottom of this matter."

"If I find out someone was pulling strings behind the scenes..."

"Hmph!"

The cold snort made everyone’s eardrums ache.

Then, he transformed into a streak of light, taking Qin Wudao with him as he vanished in an instant.

A long while after Qin Tianba had left, the teachers all breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, things hadn’t taken a turn for the worst.

"Whew... that was close..."

The Dean of Academic Affairs wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He turned to look at Gu Yuexi, his expression growing somewhat complicated.

In this S-Level mission, three people had died, and Qin Wudao was severely injured.

The only one who came out completely unscathed was, surprisingly, this freshman!

"Gu, this time... thank you for your hard work."

The dean’s tone was much kinder now.

"You’ll have to file a detailed report about the specifics of the mission once you get back. But don’t worry, the school won’t short you a single bit of the reward you deserve."

...

Gu Yuexi paid no mind to the warning look Qin Tianba had given her at the end.

Although, as she was now, the gap between her and the Qin Family was immense!

’But so what?’

’The path I must walk in this life is one of invincibility, a path that defies the heavens!’

’The Qin Family?’

’If they block my path, I’ll just trample them flat!’

After returning to the university, and after a series of tedious interviews and written depositions, Gu Yuexi did not reveal anything about the Emperor’s Soul Profound Crystal. She only said that the Queen Bee went berserk, causing the collapse, and that she was lucky enough to have survived.

Although the university staff found some parts of her story suspicious, they didn’t press the matter, as there was no evidence and Qin Wudao had already been "rescued."

In the end, the S-Level mission "Clear the Bee Infestation" was judged to have been completed by Gu Yuexi, exceeding all expectations!

Given the *force majeure* of an Eighth-Grade Queen Bee appearing during the mission, the difficulty rating was directly doubled!

The difficulty doubled, so naturally, the reward doubled as well!

「Inside the Credit Hall.」

When Gu Yuexi inserted her student card, the numbers on the screen instantly began to change.

[Mission Debrief: S-Level Clear the Bee Infestation (Exceeded Expectations)]

[Base Reward: 20,000 Credits]

[Difficulty Compensation: 20,000 Credits]

[Current Credits: 40,010]

Forty thousand credits still wasn’t enough to exchange for a top-tier Emperor Realm Demon Beast Essence Blood.

However, it was enough to get a King-level Five Stars Demon Beast Essence Blood... Chu Sheng was raring to go on a spending spree, but Gu Yuexi ruthlessly put the student card away.

"No."

"These credits aren’t for exchanges. They have another purpose."

"We’ll talk about it when we get back!"

...

「Jing University, inside the dorm room.」

Gu Yuexi cautiously activated the Sound Insulation Array, then slowly began to explain.

It turned out...

Gu Yuexi wasn’t earning credits to exchange for prizes at all.

That was why she hadn’t even glanced at the exchange counter back in the Credit Hall.

Her purpose for earning credits was for the Demigod-level Secret Realm that Jing University would open in about half a year—Secret Realm Zero.

The opportunity she had promised to trade with Chu Sheng was also within that Secret Realm Zero!

As a Martial Arts University with a profound heritage, Jing University treated its students with relative fairness.

Every student had the chance to compete for any of the university’s resources.

Secret Realms were also a type of resource.

The entry requirements for any Secret Realm were the same for all Jingda Students.

No one received special treatment, priority access, or free entry... not even the number one prodigy.

To enter a Secret Realm, one needed to spend credits.

Not enough credits? Too bad. You could be the university president’s son and you still wouldn’t be allowed in.

The same applied to Secret Realm Zero, which would open in half a year.

According to Gu Yuexi’s memories from her past life, entering Secret Realm Zero required a minimum of—one million credits!

Hearing "one million," Chu Sheng was speechless.

"BUZZ??? ’Is this really not a robbery?’"

"BUZZ, BUZZ BUZZ! ’You could exchange a million credits for so many good things!’"

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ? ’What on earth is inside Secret Realm Zero?!’"

Gu Yuexi spoke faintly, but her tone was tinged with gravity:

"Secret Realm Zero is a—Secret Realm related to the Time Realm!"

"Even I haven’t fully grasped its mysteries."

"So, during this time, we must save up enough credits."

"Then, when the Secret Realm opens, we have to enter at the first possible moment! The earlier we get in, the better our chance of encountering that opportunity."

"BUZZ. (’Oh, alright then.’)"

Chu Sheng didn’t really mind. It wasn’t like he was lacking Qi Blood to absorb at the moment, so saving up was fine.

’I have a bit of comprehension of the Time Realm, but it’s a shame it hasn’t reached Minor Success yet. It’s not very useful.’

Just as Gu Yuexi was about to say something more, she suddenly frowned and looked toward the door.

The next second...

There was a knock on the door.

Gu Yuexi opened the door, her brows furrowing even deeper.

The visitor was, surprisingly, Qin Wudao, who had been rescued just a short while ago!

Qin Wudao had changed into a clean, white casual outfit, his hair impeccably styled.

Gone from his face was his usual insufferable arrogance, as well as that nauseatingly greasy feel.

In its place was a kind of... detached calm, as if he had everything under control.

It wasn’t an act. It was a cold, tranquil indifference, as if he had seen through all worldly matters and stood high above them.

His face was still a little pale, his injuries clearly not yet healed, but his entire aura had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

If the old Qin Wudao was a sword with its edge exposed, yet slightly ostentatious...

...then the current him was like a piece of ancient jade buried for ten thousand years—smooth and gentle, yet exuding a heart-palpitating profoundness.

"Gu, aren’t you going to invite me in for a bit?"

Qin Wudao spoke.

His voice was gentle, yet it carried a strange magnetism.

Gu Yuexi narrowed her eyes slightly. Without answering, she asked coolly:

"What do you want?"

"Heh."

Qin Wudao let out a soft laugh, looking at Gu Yuexi with a flicker of interest in his eyes.

"That Emperor’s Soul Profound Crystal is in your hands, isn’t it?"

"I’m willing to offer double the price, or resources of equivalent value, in exchange for that Profound Crystal."

"As long as you’re willing, you can have your pick of anything in the Qin Family treasury."

Hearing the word "treasury," Chu Sheng suddenly popped out, his eyes gleaming...

Qin Wudao glanced at this ordinary-looking mosquito, Chu Sheng, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes!

Double the resources!

Free pick of the Qin Family treasury!

For any freshman, this was an irresistible temptation.

But Gu Yuexi’s expression remained unchanged:

"Not interested."

With that, she shut the door directly in his face.

「Outside the door.」

Qin Wudao showed no sign of anger.

However, a sharp glint erupted in his eyes once more.

’The Future Empress, is it?’

’She really does have a bit of an Empress’s air about her.’

’Interesting.’

Qin Wudao turned to leave. He hadn’t taken two steps before he suddenly stopped again, reached into his hair, and plucked out a louse.

He frowned, squeezed his fingers together, and... popped the louse on the spot.

"This Em— This young master finds these little bugs most irritating!"